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The Football Battalions tells the poignant story of the professional football players and stars who fought and fell on the battlefields of the First World War.

1914. Britain is slowly becoming football-obsessed: players are becoming household names, attendance is increasing, and King George V has attended the FA Cup Final in May. Then, war breaks out.

In this fascinating work, effectively combining football and military history, Christopher Evans explores how, once the First World War began, footballers were put under immense pressure to sign up, resulting in the formation of the Football Battalions in England and Scotland.

He recounts some of the wartime exploits of the day’s leading footballers. Some would return home to leave their mark on the game; others would fade into obscurity; and some would never make it back.

Among them are Vivian Woodward, an Olympic gold medallist and football's first superstar; Frank Buckley, who would emerge from the war a hero and go on to redefine the role of a football manager; and Walter Tull, Tottenham and Northampton hero, who faced racism both on the football field and battlefield before becoming the first Black man to win a commission and command a unit in the British Army.

Drawing on archival material, this is a captivating exploration of the elite footballers who went to war.